Returns
by QuasiOuster
Summary: Set between seasons 3 and 4. A series of vignettes show Madi and Silver reflecting on their shared destinies and discovering that there are other things they can share with each other along the way.
1. Chapter 1

I don't own anything, nor am I making any profit off of these fun bowls of word salad.

In tinkering with my other fics, I managed to eke out some vignettes to help keep the ideas and motivation flowing. I've got a few done that I'll share and working on a few more when I have a bit of time. I hope you enjoy!

* * *

 **Chapter One**

"So you've returned?" Madi's expression softened as John Silver took a seat next to her in front of the fire.

From the looks of others in the vicinity, no one had expected him to join her for the evening community gathering where her people gave blessings and enjoyed each other's company. He hadn't before. Instead, as usual, he had disappeared after meeting with a group of people from her community and from his ship to inventory their supplies. She thought he'd retired for the night to the temporary shelter her people had allowed for the pirates at the outer edge of the settlement – for those who chose to sleep on land rather than the ship.

"So it seems," he responded.

His eyes pierced her calmness, for only a moment, though. He had a way of inciting a tenseness in her, not always bad, but an extreme response, nonetheless.

The evening gathering was an occasion she did not often miss. Her mother insisted on the reminder of their good fortune as an offering for more. Silver wasn't the first pirate to join the groups throughout the open area. Many of the former slave or native West Indies pirates on Flint's crew had discovered something welcoming in the presence of others so like them in appearance even if worlds apart in experience. And, of course, a few were recognized from those who had spent time in Nassau before her father could smuggle them to the island. Others who had never much known the weight of colonial rule and had lived well alongside mixed communities also felt quite comfortable with the friends and neighbors Madi called family. Thus, the gathering remained a replenishing occasion even with the new faces.

Madi hoped the presence of this new guest wouldn't alter this.

Silver adjusted himself until he was comfortable next to her, flipping the ends of his coat free from constraint and stretching his injured leg in front of him. No words were initiated, a surprise to Madi given the man's penchant for easy conversation with her. The few times they'd worked alongside each other for any length of time, they'd managed both a casual and revealing flow of revelations. She'd wondered if he enjoyed such camaraderie with any of the others on her island.

And then she wondered if it was the leader or the woman in her that instigated such a musing.

After all, he was, perhaps not handsome, but appealing in a way with his unique wit and charm behind the dirt and scruff and insecurity born of his injury. He remained so different than other men she'd held affection for before him. Of course, she remembered a world before this island, when she and her parents had been property of the Gutheries, favored but still chattel. She'd run the fields of Nassau on the heels of the beautiful Eleanor Gutherie who was as close to her as a sister ever could be. On the guidance of her parents, she'd steered clear of the white men who she knew only as dangerous.

Those times were so long ago, and she'd shed many of the ways she'd known then. But she remembered the danger of men like Flint and Silver, no matter the indulgences they showed. No matter the indulgences she showed in return in moments of strife and mutual interest.

"Is your mother well?" Silver looked around as if expecting her to sneak up on him. It made Madi smile. The pirates were wise not to underestimate her mother. It seemed Silver had received this lesson well.

There was no denying her mother's trust in the daughter she raised to lead, her fear for her also. As their leader, she understandably avoided the daily reminders of what the world was to become for those she cared for. Of all the people to invade her sanctuary, Silver was most tolerable to her; that didn't mean that his welcome into the community would be any warmer than Flint's. So her mother had retired not long ago, leaving this time to the young.

Madi had sat alone in the distant company of her people and thinking about the responsibilities ahead to keep them safe. It seemed fitting that Silver would join her in that moment.

"She is." Madi responded. "Retired. It's been a long day."

Silver nodded. "Is it alright that I'm here?" His tone wasn't tentative exactly. She understood him to be a man who took what he wanted either by force or guile. Yet he asked with a deference that she'd come to recognize as close enough to respect for her to accept. Kofi sat nearby, attention alerted. His hand rested on his thigh close enough to his knife for him to act but not close enough for it to be an open threat.

Having kept an eye on the reactions of those around her, Madi turned to this unexpected companion; saw him meet her regard of him with a steady composure. She saw the sincerity in the request.

"It is alright." Moving to the tray beside her, she poured a cup of spiced rum for her companion and for herself. Silver took what was offered without fanfare.

As she returned her attention to the night and her community around her, her mind recalled his gaze, much less menacing than the sharp brightness felt in the light of day, she allowed herself the hope of triumph – and knew that this was shared between them as well.

Together in silence, they took in all those around them and reflected on the weight of their shared duties and the future of their alliance.

TBC


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter Two**

John Silver knew he should be enjoying his respite, but all he felt was restless.

He'd been at sea on the Walrus for the past several weeks, gathering intel and provisions for the battle to begin changing the face of the world – or at least his corner of it. It wouldn't be long before they'd set sail for Nassau intent on taking back what they were owed from the British. There were still many plans to be made, but soon.

Yet he was not with Flint at this critical juncture. The Captain and Madi departed the day before with a small party. They were to meet up with Teach to talk strategy and timeline and all of the necessities currently straining to keep their alliance intact. Silver was to remain on the island to oversee repairs to the Walrus.

What Flint had really meant with the suggestion that he stay behind was that he see to his missing limb. Oh Silver had protested, but one look from Madi stopped him in his tracks. She, along with Flint, was the only other person who'd seen how bad the pain had gotten in that last week on the ship.

So here he was, lying in a makeshift sickbed nursing yet another treatment from the Maroon island's healer.

"I see you have returned, Mr. Silver."

He hadn't been expecting her, the Queen. But he wasn't surprised to see her. Of all the white men that came and went throughout her community, his presence was the one she tolerated most, even over Flint whose counsel she preferred on matters of business. Madi might now be the new voice of the Maroon's future, but her mother, the Queen was still the prime authority on all matters of the island's home life.

"I have. Thank you for your hospitality. As always."

The Queen nodded. It didn't escape his notice that there loomed a tension among the community members when he and his men roamed about, especially the white men. Some looked upon them with curiosity, mostly the younger ones. But many remembered what those of his kind had done to them, just as Madi had told him back when the alliance had been at its most strained. That had been thanks to one of his own men who had later been killed as part of his penance for that slight. And loyalty to his pirate brothers too.

Silver couldn't deny that the power to stoke both shame and loyalty intoxicated his senses.

Pushing those emotions aside, Silver instead reflected on that moment on the Walrus with Madi, when he'd opened his eyes to the depth of purpose and strength to his newest ally. Her intelligence, her cleverness, her nobility and beauty he'd noticed within moments of setting eyes on her, made fact the moment he'd spoken to her. Yet she surprised him still. Of all his talk to Flint about being liked and feared, he still needed to work out what it was that Madi endeared in him.

Silver's attention returned to the Queen. Her, he understood – for outsiders, fear was the medium she worked in, and it was effective even from such a small package. He didn't even know what to call her. Madi never volunteered it, but he supposed he should ask one of these days. It made him wonder what the Queen would say or do if she knew these thoughts he had of her daughter, both the respect and the fascination of her. He wondered of the circumstances that would encourage such a reveal to seek the approval of this proud and powerful woman who had nurtured such a treasure in the form of her daughter.

The leader's vigil lingered and Silver wondered if she'd only come by to intimidate him in some unimaginable fashion. Whatever she read in his expression, it prompted her to take a seat near him before she finally spoke.

"My daughter tells me that you have been quite successful at making your preparations. It won't be long until you make your stand."

Silver sat up, shifted his wrapped half-leg to better converse with her from where she sat across from him. There was no movement from the rocking chair, not like when Madi sat in that spot and watched over him with both caution and curiosity.

"We'll be ready, of that I am sure. Every day something else falls into place and I can feel our chances growing stronger."

"Yet it is still a gamble," she responded. "Still a risk and the point of no return in the story of my people." She paused and her stare seemed to cut him to the core. "We approach the point of no return for my daughter."

He had to train his breath not to catch at his feeling of exposure. Not to completely give away the excitement that her words elicited. And the fear.

"You shouldn't waste time pretending. I have not survived and ruled here as long or as smoothly as I have without trusting what my instincts tell me. I notice how you look at her; what you think you hide, even from your Captain. It is not merely friendship or an alliance." He didn't want to flinch against her scrutiny, and he didn't. However, the impulse was powerful because he knew she would not relent for love and protection of her only child.

Against his nature, he was beginning to understand that devotion to her.

He'd never felt anything quite like what he did for the princess who could command armies yet who softly cried in his arms in grief. Arms she may have sought out of convenience, but no matter. She'd been in his embrace and he'd wanted her there. Maybe that's what he'd been hoping for deep down when he'd taken the dreadful trip up to her quarters to find her.

"I," Silver began. He cleared his throat and turned more squarely toward her. "I don't know what to say exactly. If you're expecting me to deny it, you'll be disappointed." The older woman didn't even give away surprise at that. An explanation was in order, though. He owed Madi and these things he was feeling that much. "She's beautiful. You know that."

The Queen glared at him. "I do."

"So yes, I'm very attracted to her. Her brilliance, her resilience, her patience, and yes her body too." He tilted his head. "But that's not why you've initiated this little chat, is it?"

It was a gamble, treading on this thin ground with her. His eyes narrowed and he leaned forward to ease the pressure in his back – and to ensure he had her full attention. "You're not concerned about me. Such thoughts are to be expected. I'm a morally bankrupt pirate after all. Not to be trusted beyond what is convenient and useful." The Queen's displeasure was as plainly exposed as Silver felt in the moment. "No, you're not concerned for my intention. You're concerned for hers."

The tension in the Queen's body betrayed her agitation. "I know my daughter. I know her loyalties." She leaned back in the chair and examined him some more. "But I also know that she is her own woman. A _young_ women with much responsibility on her shoulders and a world changing right under her feet."

"I won't have any harm come to her in the days ahead. Not if I can prevent it."

"Mr. Silver, if I doubted that, I would have stopped all this long ago. My concern is the harm you can cause without even realizing it."

"You underestimate her maturity," Silver interjected, heated at the slight to Madi.

"I underestimate nothing. She is of my flesh and I know every moment of hers since she's drawn breath." At that her mouth turned up in the closest thing to a smile he had ever witnessed from her. "And I was once a young woman privy to those who believed their words could convince anyone of anything."

Silver scoffed. "Well, she's hardly susceptible to my manipulations. I wouldn't even try." He shrugged. "Wouldn't even know how to honestly." And it was the truth, mostly because of how many complicated emotions she sparked for him.

The Queen stood, tightened her shawl and turned to leave. "I may have put my confidence in you from what I've seen and heard of your devotion to your men. But my regard ends there. I will only say that there is nothing you can offer my daughter that is good for her, not after the end of all this."

He bit back a sharp denial; thought better of it. Thought better of what it meant to deny it within himself. "And what of the short term? If she chooses to make the most of what's left of this world?"

With her back to him, she only turned her head slightly, not even looking at him. "She is her own woman. I do not control her. I only hope that good sense and a preservation for the future prevails. And that those around her do not pressure her to compromise what she knows to be her duty."

The idea should have warmed him, the possibility. In fact, it did warm him, but so did the apprehension. He kept quiet at her response; didn't challenge her on it.

Her footfalls barely scratched the floor and Silver leaned back on his bed. He had a lot of thinking to sort out.

TBC.


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter Three**

Madi fell in step beside Flint after they left Teach to his preparations. The Walrus crewmen who had accompanied them to this meeting were preparing their longboat to depart, and she kept her distance as the Captain oversaw that all was to his satisfaction for their departure. Soon, they'd set sail to return to her people and reunite Flint with his crew.

The meeting with Teach had gone as anticipated, complete with swapped insults and thick tension, sometimes eased and sometimes exacerbated by Mr. Rackham who had joined the conference late. The history among the men was both fascinating and frustrating. She had no use for it, but recognized that it must play out if only to let off steam from the pressured pot of their alliance.

Madi had mostly stayed quiet, having no quarrel with any of the men and preferring to cast her lot only when it was necessary to secure an advantage for her interests and that of her people. It had not gone unnoticed by the man next to her, she knew, although Rackham and Teach hadn't seemed to think much of it for whatever reasons dictated for them. She simply wanted to get the whole thing over with so she could return home and resume their preparations. Not that there would be time to rest. She would join the Walrus when it left immediately for a trip to shore up an alliance with a recently liberated colony a fortnight's journey there and back. Their errand completed, and intel from the Nassau resistance in hand, their attack on the island would go forward.

What happens after they sail for Nassau stirs uncertainty, yet also righteousness, hope, and a deep passion for what the world could be for her people. For all the people she now found herself aligned.

Seeing the crewmen struggle in the gusting wind that had been their enemy the entire voyage, Madi signaled for Kofi to assist as she kept her distance. She registered surprise in Flint's expression, quickly suppressed. So accustomed to leading alone, every decision emerging from his own mental machinations, he'd have to get used to collaboration. Despite the meeting they'd just had, he'd remained too stubborn or slow to understand this.

He would learn quickly enough.

"I trust you are eager to return home," he offered.

Madi had been content with their silence. She felt no need to get to know this man. Between accounts from her father, the rumors from pirate and former slave alike, and what she'd seen with her own eyes, there was not much she desired of his counsel. Yet, she had been well taught to play whatever role was required of her in any given situation. And she remembered her father's words about knowing her enemy, even those that hadn't become such an adversary quite yet.

So she obliged his conversation. "I am. However, I am still learning first hand that it is a gift to have freedom to move about and then miss that which anchors you to this world."

Flint glanced her way but continued to monitor the scene in front of them. "We should make landfall by the end of the day. It will be late, but we will arrive in good time for you to sleep in your own bed." Madi nodded her head, accepting his skilled assessment. "You seemed content to keep you own counsel during today's conversation. I also trust you felt your interests met?"

"Yes," Madi replied. He was fishing, though he thought his brusque directness hid his curiosity. It would do him well to keep his thoughts focused on her as an ally rather than that of a girl. So many men made that mistake.

"Or maybe you figured you'd let the histrionics play out once you were assured of your own objectives."

Madi smiled. That was more like it. Another simple, "yes" in response.

Flint sighed. "Mr. Silver tells me that I'd be wise to keep your counsel as well."

Now frowning, Madi refused to confront him with her direct attention. 'As well.' She didn't like his tone. Again, fishing. No doubt he had noticed her in the company of Mr. Silver on many occasions to conduct business. Perhaps had guessed at her regard for the quartermaster and appreciation for the respect he showed her community.

Or perhaps he intuited that which she kept tightly bound: the growing attraction held hidden but ever present between her and Silver. She knew enough about the relationship between the two men to have no doubt the Captain would have his suspicions. If not considered a threat to his authority, their growing camaraderie would surely be an additional factor to consider as events unfold. And although she and Silver never spoke of what he revealed to her during her vigil all those weeks ago, she'd be a fool to ignore the warning to his worries.

And her thoughts were full enough with other warnings. The ones that cautioned her against getting too close to the charming, quick-witted pirate whose gaze had lost its harshness and now only looked upon her with the intensity of passion and curiosity. Or perhaps he'd always looked at her that way and only now did she recognize the reflection of her own desires. She had duties, and that would help her keep her focus. But she was also a woman and she would not deny what his attention and their easy connection aroused in her.

None of this was the business of the man next to her, however. He would hear nothing to stoke his manipulation of her or aid in whatever power struggle he and Silver perpetuated. She already suspected what he may infer from the delay in her response to him and his prying about what kind of counsel she and Silver kept together.

"You are welcome to do as you see fit as the captain of your crew. All that I do is for the strength of this alliance as I believe it benefits my people. If you share that goal, you well know my counsel is a thing given freely, as is my mother's."

Flint squared his shoulders. "Your counsel seems to agree with Mr. Silver. He is doing well coming into his own for our quest."

She wondered at his turn in conversation, suspected the implications of it and wondered at that too. They were playing a game with words, one quite different to the subject of their dialogue. It was the sparring of two leaders testing the boundaries of their supposed alignment of interests; and the alignment of confidantes.

"I recall that Mr. Silver has not been with your crew for long, yet has earned the esteem of your men. Of you," she added knowing what response she would get.

"Yes." Flint grinned at his opportunity to now offer a simple reply to a complex question asked and reversal masterfully executed. But he did not realize her easy acceptance of this for what it was. He would later, probably, but not now with instincts still honed on opponents in the likes of Teach and Rackham and Woodes Rogers. Men. It didn't escape her notice how easily he'd disregarded Eleanor Gutherie, the woman who had aided and then bested him as much if not more than these others. Instead, he concerned himself with men of ego, pride, and force.

Her authority came from none of those things. No one could deny Flint's intellect and will; his drive and determination, albeit relentless and dangerous. But the world tended to invent new things for one to learn along life's journey and those that prevailed most successfully understood that.

A signal from below drew their attention. The boat was ready and she could see Kofi scrutinizing the two of them sharply.

Ignoring her guard's disapproval, Flint offered his hand to help guide her down. "Come," he said. "It's time for us to return."

Nodding, Madi followed his lead. For now.

TBC

* * *

AN: Still more content in the pipeline. I'm dabbling a bit so feedback is always welcome as I tweak the voice of these characters.


	4. Chapter 4

_**AN: My sincere appreciation for those of you who have sent feedback. Thanks to all for reading and following and such.**_

* * *

 **Chapter Four**

A quiet rap on the door startled Silver and then stirred what was now a regular thrill of anticipation. That soft tapping could only be one person, and he welcomed her company. Sure enough, the face of a young Maroon Queen appeared a moment later, and he promptly gestured her inside.

Silver had been sent below to confirm and record alternative coordinates for their journey. They were sailing back from their rendezvous with not one but two new allies from freed colonies to the south of Nassau. He'd suspected DeGroot had done so to give Flint something to do on deck since the man had been cooped up for nearly five days of their fortnight journey with plans, negotiations, and meetings. His temperament reflected this agitation at being so confined to such sedentary duties.

Silver didn't mind the errand. After hours spent shuffling from one summit to another, he was content to be still for a stretch. Of course, that circumstance had been of his own making when he'd insisted on accompanying Flint and Madi on their appointments despite Flint's protestations that he could handle things and Madi's that she had plenty of protection in Kofi. His motivations reflected neither; he'd simply been curious.

His doggedness had paid off when he'd had the pleasure of seeing first-hand the strength of Madi's negotiation skills and the power of her vision to see freedom spread across their homes.

Now as they returned to Madi's island, their voyage left little to do until they could regroup. Silver certainly anticipated the tasks that awaited them when that moment arrived. But he also enjoyed the down time after months spent in a fury of crises that regularly needed sorted.

Or rather, he enjoyed his chances to revel in his time with Madi. He peered over his shoulder at her and felt the usual warmth at the promise of her attention.

"Are you checking up on me?" Silver asked as she made her way to where he stood, charts and log book before him. A grin played at his lips that he could tell she'd noticed even beneath his now full beard.

Madi returned his smile. "I would never do such a thing. You are a grown man, after all." Silver scoffed at her, a shared joke after his response to her last entreaty for him to seek treatment with her island's healer for his leg. It was becoming too obvious how much he enjoyed her company. Longed for it at times. If she seemed obliged to comply, he'd count himself content.

"I suppose I should be grateful that you do not yet tire of my company these many nights, Princess."

"Not yet," she replied. "However, your insistence on such a title will surely mean I will not need Kofi to see to it you feel the weight of my displeasure."

Silver straightened and saw the seriousness behind the playfulness to her words. He was well aware of her dislike of the term "princess" to describe her. She did not like the delicacy of the word, nor did it seem comfortable to emulate the colonial powers from which her parents meant to distance her. It remained a title she tolerated, but would not fully embrace. Yet, he had no other word to describe her regal nature, her royalty of character, whether bestowed by lineage or decree.

Still, he raised his hands in surrender. "'The weight of your displeasure.' Now there is something I have no intention of bearing if I have any say in it. I've already seen what you can do to a man for it." Madi fixed her gaze on him, eyebrow raised.

One of their new allies, a frequent trading partner with Nassau, had delighted at learning who her father was and insisted on calling her "Miss Scott," even after being corrected. Following the third such occasion, Madi concluded their discussion with a strong rebuke that she could see no alliance without respect for the critical resources her people and that of the slave population brought to the venture. She would not be undermined or treated as anything but an equal.

 _I bear the name my mother and father gave me and no other, certainly not that bestowed by the ones claiming ownership of my people. My father used it as a convenient disguise, a tool to elicit a false sense of security from those who would see him as a man of limited consequence. I have no need of either, and you would do well to acknowledge that._

Despite a role that involved years of molding, training, and sacrifice, her name and her identity were hers and hers alone to shape.

"I know you mean no offense, Mr. Silver," she offered seeing his casual playfulness with her transform into a newly sober expression.

"Madi, my apologies all the same." She nodded before moving to peer over his shoulder.

"Tell me," she said, quickly reading over his notations, "why do you linger here below? Is it because you fear Mr. Lawrence's turn at navigation?"

Silver scoffed. "We should all have a healthy fear of that. And yes, maybe I prefer the safety of an enclosed structure to swinging about on deck until Mr. DeGroot decides that we've all had enough of his hands-on instruction for one day." While a good idea to use their voyage to strengthen the skills of the men, Mr. DeGroot's apprentice had much still to learn from the seasoned sailing master.

"Surely, it cannot be that bad," Madi said, chuckling.

He turned to face her more squarely. "Surely, it can. And if you didn't believe that you wouldn't be hiding down here either," he accused. Her laugh, now audible, sparked a shiver of excitement in him. "In fact, if you'd been on board a few weeks ago when we had the misfortune of—"

A powerful shudder tipped the room to the side and on instinct, he grabbed for her with one hand while gripping the table securely with the other. Except he found that she'd already braced herself sufficiently, albeit out of his reach. She looked calm and cool, always did, actually. Her knowing smirk greeted his surprise.

"Well. Someone's got her sea legs." Once he processed what had happened, he didn't bother to hide his amusement.

He'd come to notice how he loved to look at her and tried not to expend all of his focus on her if he could help it. It wouldn't do for him to be that transparent in his interest. However, he found it increasingly difficult the more her company pleased him. And he'd been quite creative at inventing ways to find himself in her company.

This moment was no different, which was how he found himself so well-prepared when the second jolt hit the ship, dislodging the women next to him who wasn't expecting it.

This time, he was quick to scoop her up before she went flailing across the room, pulling her squarely into his personal space. The caress of her breath against his cheek stimulated him as much as the gasp that escaped her lips. As the ship righted and boisterous jeers could be heard from above, he focused his attention squarely on the woman in his arms.

A disoriented Madi brought an arm up to right herself after the jostling. But to Silver's cautious delight, she found that his body was the only fixed structure to which she would anchor as the erratic swaying subsided. "Perhaps, we both spoke too soon," she murmured. She made no move to leave his embrace, which only emboldened him.

Tightening his grip around her, he tried to catch her eyes again as her focus wandered everywhere but his face. "One who's been on board for a time learns that it's best to beware of Mr. Lawrence's diversions, the second more so than the first."

"I see," she whispered.

If he'd learned one thing in his years, it was that if an opportunity presents itself to secure your prize, you take it and hold on tight for whatever ride ensued. It'd certainly been a factor in how'd he moved from stowaway to the richest man in the West Indies to Flint's right hand man. Silver refused to release Madi, enjoying the feel of her against him too much; enjoying the safety he provided her even against this small enemy in the form of a hapless sailing master in training.

Glancing past her at the closed door, he inquired, "Where are you men, Madi?" That brought her eyes up to meet his, reading whatever she should from his face. He did not hide behind false indifference, instead letting her see his regard. Willing to pay the price for whatever that got him.

"They are…" she dropped her gaze and looked casually toward the door. "They are not here," she responded finally, returning to study his face.

"They will be soon," he replied. Kofi took his role very seriously. If there was a chance that she'd stub her toe in the sand, the man would forge a path to prevent it. Silver couldn't bring himself to begrudge the man. It spoke to the guard's duty to Madi's family and to their people. And more than that, it was Kofi's affection for his charge that drove him to overprotection and obedience. Silver was starting to understand that, although for completely different reasons.

"Yes, they will come looking." She smiled at the humor of that truth.

With the grip of her in his hands and the warmth of her body mixing with his, her clever, beautiful smile was his undoing. Before he could ruin the opportunity with words or worries, he pulled her in for a kiss only to find her eagerly waiting for such an affection.

That first taste of her made his heart seem close to bursting from his chest. He moaned into her mouth, feeling relief over the release and her lack of hesitation. She deepened their kiss before he could even register how much he wanted it.

Her fingers gripped the thick fabric of his coat seconds after he framed her face in his hands, tracing along the spots he'd longed to brush with his lips. Breaking from her mouth, he indulged himself the luxury of fulfilling this simple fantasy as they both caught their breath. Yet their mouths found each other again only moments after the separation, devouring to satisfy both curiosity and desire. One of her hands had teased along his neck to lodge at the base of his head, threading her fingers into his hair and gently holding her to him as they both took from each other

She may shun the title of princess, but he'd make her his queen and his alone.

As sudden as it began, she moved out of his arms, pushing him back toward his table filled with charts and instruments. Although dazed, it took him a beat longer than she to register the footsteps approaching. The knock to the door came a split second before it opened to Kofi, barely a request for entrance at all.

"Are you alright ma'am?" Kofi asked, scrutinizing his charge to check for injury, and other things too probably, knowing him. Madi's alert guard was not ignorant of his attention to her.

Because the woman next to him was as brilliant as she was beguiling, she had moved a safe distance from him, yet close enough to appear as if they had been conferring over some detail or another from the content spread in front of them.

"I am well. I trust that Mr. Lawrence has the ship under control now?"

Kofi bristled. "Let us all hope so. I believe Mr. DeGroot has taken control of the steering once more." He turned to Silver. "Your captain says you are needed above."

Silver frowned. "I'll return in a moment." His dismissal was clear, not that he expected Kofi to heed it. Still, he couldn't have the man thinking that the quartermaster of the ship could be ordered around so.

Looking to Madi, he noticed the tint to her cheek, the deeper than usual breath that rose from within her chest as she looked upon her guardian. Her blouse had exposed the smooth area where her shoulder met her neck and his eyes wandered to it as he chided himself for not letting his lips linger along that soft patch of skin when he had the chance. Certainly, he could have elicited one of her lovely gasps if he'd had a few moments to concentrate on that particular spot.

"I will return as well. Thank you, Kofi."

Her voice broke into his fantasy as well as the glare he felt coming from Kofi at his wandering eyes. The second dismissal, this time from his leader, was a more diplomatic one that carried the authority Silver's did not. Kofi retreated slowly, backing out before turning from the doorway. He left the door ajar, purposefully no doubt. The man certainly was no fool.

Kofi gone, albeit only steps from the room, Silver closed the log book and straightened the charts on the table, securing his pencils and what instruments he'd retrieved for his task. He didn't know what to make of their newfound intimacy, didn't want to over-analyze it. Yet he felt he should say something, whether in jest or display of wit.

"I must say, Madi—"

She cut off his thought with the sweet pressure of her fingers against his lips. "You and your words, Mr. Silver." The mischief in her expression made him want to scurry across the room to close them in and cut themselves off from the world for the rest of the afternoon, hell, the rest of whatever days she'd have him. There was no turning back now, wherever their connection led.

She had clearly found the pleasure and humor in indulging their mutual attraction. But beyond that?

Before she could pull away, he gently but surely grasped her wrist, holding it in place. Exerting the slightest pressure to the fingers resting against his mouth, he kissed her once more. The smoldering heat to her eyes as she lightly traced his lips in response would surely haunt his nights from this day forward.

Nevertheless, he did have the sense to be wary of either his or her men seeing them like that, and the complications that would arise as a result. So he let her go. She moved purposefully away and out of the room, her every stride a return to the Maroon ruler; every step cloaking the woman who had, only moments before, simply been enjoying the attention of a man rapidly and willingly falling for her.

She had recognized what he offered. What he'd keep offering if she remained amenable.

Alone again, Silver let out a deep breath. They had a damn war to fight, allies to raise, an alliance to hold together. Yet here he was occupied with thoughts of a woman.

No not just a women. Occupied with thoughts of his queen.

It should bother him. Only it didn't and Silver smiled as he followed her through the door.

TBC


	5. Chapter 5

**_Author's Note: Busy times! But I'm glad I finally got the chance to edit this monster of a chapter. Also, vacations are apparently not the most productive time to work on lingering fics._**

 ** _For those I can't send a personal response to, thank you for the lovely feedback. And thank you everyone for reading. Enjoy!_**

* * *

 **Chapter Five**

Madi watched from the doorway as Kofi shuffled carefully but quickly down the hill in the pouring rain. She uttered a silent offering of safety for his successful return. In the distance, she could see the trail his journey would take him and the ship waiting in the distance for what he would bring. She smiled knowing the plans of her and her allies were firmly in motion.

Her long-time guardian, her friend didn't look back as he set sure foot toward his mission's completion. When he'd left her in Silver's care, Madi had seen how everything in him screamed to stay behind to protect her. He'd argued passionately for any alternative – only on matters of her safety would he dare attempt to overrule her. Yet he had left her all the same because it stood the only wise choice on their short list of options. There'd been no claim of doubt to her remaining safe from injury or mortal danger in his absence. No, Kofi, knew that no harm would come to her on that front. However, there were other threats afoot, more intimate and person dangers, that he vowed to protect her from. And unfortunately, John Silver held the role of the villain in Kofi's mind on this.

It'd been a routine errand: exchange intelligence and resources funneled to the Resistance on Nassau through this remote travel route. Due to the large amount of money to be exchanged, Flint or Silver's presence was ideal; but Flint was busy gathering additional men with Teach, and that left Silver to the task. For accountability, it was necessary for Madi to be present as well, not because she didn't trust Silver – he was the only one for whom she did hold such regard. Rather, it called on appearances to be respected. For her status as an equal partner, she must carry the same burdens for the sake of her men, his men, and their partners in the Nassau Resistance.

They'd completed the exchange as planned. What they hadn't accounted for was the weather frustrating their plans, wreaking havoc on their ability to get onto and away from the island efficiently. As soon as possible, they needed to pass the intelligence on to Teach and Flint who were a quarter of a day's journey by longboat from where the Walrus waited for them. But when the rain set in, their timetable for descending the hill from the outpost in which they'd taken shelter became accelerated. If they wanted to reach the beach and then the ship before the weather made it impossible to complete their task, they needed to make great haste.

And when this involved traversing rapidly muddying and slippery terrain, made treacherous even for the most sure-footed, it became virtually impassable for one who lacked both legs to navigate this.

Madi turned her head slightly to the man who sat at the window. Perhaps he'd admit to brooding as he sat on the lone chair occupying the one-room, dilapidated outpost in which they found themselves. If she wished to make him even more cross, she'd point out that his sulking didn't change the facts of their circumstances; that they'd been left behind together in the need for speed and dexterity to complete their task.

She smiled, wondering if he truly didn't appreciate the benefits of this. It might amuse her to remind him.

Oh Silver had tried to pull rank and weight on Kofi, to the discomfort of the extra crewman they'd brought on their journey who was not used to the two men's rapport. They argued passionately, and by the end of things, Kofi seemed on the verge of allowing Silver to make his attempt, so frustrated with the debate and disdainful for the alternative. But they all knew the inevitable: neither Kofi nor Silver would allow her to make the trip and neither man would leave her behind under the protection of a junior crewman. And despite his pride, Silver simply could not successfully make the journey on one leg.

That left them as they were now, Kofi and the crewman, making good time on their return from what she could see from her position, and she and Silver left behind until the storm's clearing and more light made it less of a chance that they would break their necks descending to the beach.

Madi turned from her watch and closed the door behind her. Silver seemed to make no notice as he continued to stare blankly out of the window. The light would be gone soon leaving them mostly shrouded in darkness with no means for a fire. Madi removed her damp shawl and hung it on the door's protruding latch, hopefully to dry by morning.

Next, she moved to stand behind Silver laying a hand on his shoulder, lightly rubbing her thumb to his cheek as she did so. He didn't start at the touch, instead releasing a heavy sigh. After a few moments, he reached up to lay his hand on top of hers and squeeze. Taking that offering of acceptance, she removed his long coat from where he'd draped it over the back of the chair. She shook it out, found it too damp from the downpour they'd escaped, and hung it on an errant nail in the corner of the room. When she returned, she resumed her position behind him, gently caressing his shoulders. Again he reached up to gently hold one of her hands in his.

This moment, she thought, was why they were drawn to each other as they were. There seemed no need to hide their frustrations and vulnerabilities.

"I know this is hard for you," she said, carrying her voice over the rain coming down outside. "I cannot know all that you go through and all that you keep hidden away from your men or your captain. And from me."

"Not from you," Silver replied, his response quiet and sure. It scared her sometimes when he said such things, how open he'd always been about his trust in her as well as his attraction. She did not want to fall so fast. Yet it seemed as if he had willingly let this thing between them take him to his knees, eager to pull her along with him. The fear revealed itself that her heart went along so willingly.

Madi leaned down and placed a kiss at his brow before resuming her gentle massage. "I imagine that for your men, you must work so hard to remain at all times as sturdy as the trust they place in you."

As they stood in the fading light, a few stray raindrops would land on them through the high window. There weren't many places they could retire to in the one room shelter: a stable enough looking hammock was the only other furniture present. After their long journey, Madi wished to suggest that he rest, yet knew his mood to be too sour for that. She vowed to see him content.

Silver gripped her hand more firmly and brought her around to face him. At her prompting, she kneeled in front of him so he could look into her eyes. "I really could be better company. I'm sorry for that."

She let him loosely hold both her hands in his lap. "You think yourself weak because your body limits you. You ignore your strength that all your men see, your no-good pirates and even some of my people. I wouldn't be here with a weak dishonorable man. Kofi would not have allowed it either. When you were at your most vulnerable, I saw you, and I see you now."

Silver reached down to trace his thumb against her cheek before leaning down to place his forehead to hers. They remained still in this position for long moments until she pulled back to frame his face with her hands and look directly into his beautiful eyes.

"This man, John Silver, is worth going to battle with, worth allying with men I had sworn as enemies, worth sharing my affection, my trust.

Silver closed his eyes at that. "Why in god's name do you, Madi? What did I do to deserve this? Any of this?" His words sounded weary, his soul bruised, and it broke her heart.

"Maybe it's because you see me too." Silver opened his eyes to stare at her once more. "Do you know how many people, how many men, lay eyes upon me and see an opportunity for status among my people? Or see only the aspects my womanhood they pursue for their pleasure? I know what others would say about you, the warnings about your kind. And not just the nature of pirates, but the nature of the white man who have violated their slave women or feel emboldened to abuse women like me they view as property."

Silver nodded in understanding, stroked her cheek again to sooth the anger such thoughts had sparked. Instead Madi thought of the many times she'd caught the man in front of her taking her in with his gaze.

"When you look at me, you do so with respect. You may seek to negotiate but not to conquer. You see me for who I am, not for what I can do for you."

His swift movement to place his lips on hers delighted her. It only took a moment for him to intensify the kiss, tasting her deeply. Breaking away after a few moments of this, he pulled her to her feet and again stared at her in the fading light of the day. It was that usual stare that she'd gotten used to, unwavering and strong; a gaze focused directly on her eyes and nowhere else. He held her steady as he leaned her against the wall.

Tracing her features with his eyes, he examined every contour to her face. Madi did the same with her fingers against his tanned skin, the stray whiskers of his cheek, the curls of his hair that circled around his ear, his stern eyebrow over eyes so blue and piercing that it seemed to physically sting her. When her hand glided over his lips, he kissed them softly as he'd done the first time they'd given in to their mutual attraction.

"Madi, you're right, of course. You looked past this damned deformity, across an ocean of difference between us." He sighed and wrapped his arms around her. "Jesus, you knew me when I didn't know myself. And instead of using that knowledge against me, you made me stronger for it." He leaned in slowly to kiss her, seeming not able to hold back any longer. She eagerly accepted his affection.

"From the first moment I laid eyes on you, I saw your brilliance." He brushed his lips across her cheek, a smile at the corner of his lips. "And your danger." He moved to her other cheek and softly kissed her there too. "I came to know your kindness, and your strength. Your bravery." Letting his lips caress hers, he took her bottom lip between his and sucked lightly. "And yes I saw your beauty, marvel at it every day, even when I'm away from you." She allowed him to taste her more fully. They were now breathing heavily into each other. Her hands began to roam across his firm chest, her thumb stroking at the exposed skin. "When I look at you," he whispered in between tastes of her, "I think of all these things and I want you to be mine."

Madi felt warmed and aching from his words. She smiled into them as they left his lips.

"And?" she replied. She felt the breath of his chuckle across her nose as he stared down at her.

"And," he said, taking her face in his hands. "I do believe that we have this place to ourselves for a while."

Madi laughed. "I see you have finally realized we are truly alone. Is that time meant to be wasted?"

A raised eyebrow greeted her inquiry. "Are you seducing me," he asked with shocked amusement.

Her fingers moved from the opening in his shirt to trail down his arm and rest at his waist where she fingered the belt at his hip.

"Perhaps."

Silver's response was to slide his body along hers as he pressed her none too gently into the wall.

This was possibly the only time they'd find themselves not only alone, but isolated for a stretch of hours where they were free to openly display the deep affection and attraction they felt for one another. It was likely the only time it would happen in the foreseeable future with a series of battles and challenges before them. Madi watched as the realization and appreciation rippled through him and he leaned it to get a fifth, sixth, and then endless taste of her.

She supposed she had her answer. No this was certainly not time to be wasted.

Silver moved nimble fingers to her belt, removing it before gripping her backside and discarding her outer skirt as well. A little slower to concentrate on such practicalities, Madi had only just removed his belt when he turned his attention to her top. Pulling her blouse from her undergarment, he let his hands linger against her skin underneath, resting against her back before making his way upwards to cup her breasts. When she gasped and clenched her eyes shut at the pleasure of his rough fingers encircling her nipples, she heard him sigh in utter contentment. He quickly removed her blouse then too, leaving her in her underclothes.

The lips at her cleavage felt wonderfully hot and wet against her skin. When he shifted the thin material of her bodice aside to let his tongue tease and arouse her further, she gripped his head and concentrated on the sensation of his hair between her fingers lest she lose herself from this attention. As he continued, she grabbed wildly at the back of his shirt, pulling it up and over his head, only momentarily distracted from his more thorough tasting of both her breasts. A fleeting thought inspired her to question how quickly their passions had been ignited and wondered at the consequences of it. The only explanation she could accept in the moment was that the ache and the yearning in the both of them would not be denied.

Silver returned to her mouth and pressed his bare chest to hers. "You are magnificent," he murmured, moving his now firm manhood against her hypnotically.

Madi had known the pleasures of a man before, but nothing had ever burned as brightly as her want for this pirate, this beautiful soul who made her feel the possibilities of both their worlds combined.

Unfastening his trousers, she distracted and enticed him with sure strokes of her hand on him. His groans, masked by the pounding of the rain against the old wood outpost frame, only encouraged her, made her want more and made her determined to get it. His sharp grip at her wrist to still her invoked a grin at his pained expression.

"Mmm, yes you're very dangerous," he said gliding his hand from her wrist to entwine with her fingers.

He focused again on tender, lingering kisses, his tongue exploring her mouth as his free hand explored her exposed skin. She let him set the pace, content to bear the pressure of his weight pressing her harder against the wall. She considered and dismissed the idea of suggesting they retire to the chair he'd vacated, concerned for the stress on his leg and possibly a little eager to sit astride him and help them both find their pleasure. Instead, she recognized that maybe he needed this, an assertion of his strength and control; a plan of action on his terms even if behind closed doors. No, she would not compromise seeing what he had in mind instead – and enjoy it completely, as would he.

After several moments, he lay her arm across his shoulders doing the same with her other as he continued to kiss and stroke her. He then gripped her hips in his hands, grabbing at the material of her underskirt and letting it reveal her from the floor up inch by inch. Soon she would be fully exposed to him; her center throbbed at the anticipation and she keened softly as he devoured her mouth in more sensuous, wet kisses.

Her body seemed to move without her conscious direction to do so, and at some point, she felt her knee grazing his waist and hooking around his leg. A moment later, he slid inside her, both of them moaning into the howling wind and rain.

Silver held still against her, but not for long. Her tightness around him left an uncontrollable need for friction and it wasn't long before they were both panting with movement, pulsing as their need became satisfied. He balanced himself by gripping her hip hard and pinning her even more firmly against the thin wall of the outpost. Madi briefly wondered if it was possible to bring the whole thing down with the power of their lovemaking, Silver's thrusts hard and wanting against her.

And then she only wondered how long it would be before she split apart from the pleasure of his insistent rhythm.

The thought had barely left her mind when she felt his hands at her backside and a swift scooping of her into his arms, her legs encircling his waist as he held still once more against her. Two steps back and she found herself straddling him in the room's chair, another of her fantasies unfolding as she resumed their joining. He kissed her everywhere he could reach, her breasts, her face, her neck and shoulders. He moved with her as she ground herself against him, wanting to give him as much pleasure as she could; show him that she was his, no matter his false leg or their uncertain future. When he brought his fingers under her skirt to play along her center where they were joined, she let out a cry of pleasure and saw the hint of a satisfied smirk play across his face in the shadowed room. It disappeared in a grimace of the sweetest ache when she gripped the back of the chair and squeezed him further inside of her.

The pressure building and the dampness settling once again on their skin, they took each other to the brink of their bodies' greatest pleasures. Discretion forgotten, they openly declared their ecstasy to the elements and the isolation of their shelter as the storm raged outside. Flashes of lightening illuminated for the briefest of moments and she could witness the beauty of his surrender. And he hers. As their release approached, he rested his head at her breast and murmured her name over and over, hands roaming against her back as she buried her fingers in his hair and pressed him to her.

At the pinnacle and ebbing of their union, it was the silence that she later remembered. The pressure of his release and wetness to their joining a distant sensation to the clenching in her heart at the strength and beauty of their feelings for each other.

Later, after they lay in the hammock together holding each other with his coat draped over them to stave off the night's chill; after they drifted off to sleep and woke to make love slowly in the cocoon of their modest bed; after they rose before dawn to carefully start down the still muddy but less treacherous trail to the beach, Madi wondered what their return to the ship and her home would mean. Yet she didn't linger on the idea. It would be what it would be, and she'd hold on to her contentment for as long as fate deemed it possible given the trying times ahead. She reveled in the warmth of his hand as they helped each other down the dirty slope, slipping on occasion and laughing at their predicament. By the time they reached the edge of the beach to see Kofi and several others rowing toward them a ways away, they were both covered from head to foot in mud from their falls and loving every second of being together like this without the watchful eyes and pressure of their respective roles.

As Madi took off her soiled flats and rinsed them in the incoming tide, Silver stood above her and grinned. "We're going to have to get you some proper pirate attire you know. Or at least some decent boots," he added wincing at the mud-caked shoes.

Madi stood and returned her shoes to her feet, not minding the dampness, although she did not reveal this to Silver. The thought of him dressing her in such a manner had its appeal. "I see," she said challenging him, her amusement only slightly masked. "Will I get a hat like Miss Bonny?" she inquired.

"You can have whatever you like, as long as I get to take it off of you on occasion." The heat in his expression did not go unnoticed. She imagined hers reflected the same.

"Then I shall consider it," Madi said. "Now come, let us meet our companions." At that point, the boat had arrived at the shoreline ready for them to board.

"Yes, ma'am," Silver responded. "Please, lead the way." He followed her down the beach, his mood considerably improved from the night before. "You know, I'm going to miss that place."

"It is possible that we will return. When we retake Nassau." Madi turned and flashed him a defiant grin full of all the promise she felt in this moment.

TBC …


End file.
